Breaker strip construction



July 7, 1953 J. 5. PALMER BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 28, 1950 E JI 'D FIG.

INVENTOR P JOHN S. PALMER ATT'Y Patented July 7, 1953 .BREAKE'R-STRIP CONSTRUCTION v:John'ss.. :l?almer,::Evansville, .Ind assignor to In- (tel-national. :Harvester Company,. aicorporation ol New-Jersey Application'February 28, 1950,. SeriaI No. 146,652

"4-.Claims. (o1. 22o--15).

.221 This inventionrelates "to refrigerator cabinet 'constructions"having-spaced: apart-wallsandi'particularly to -a breaker -strip construction :for

V bridging the "space *between the couter :wall and inner wall atthedoor opening side ofsuch cabinet.

.It is .the primary purpose 6f -the present inventionto provide abrea'ker strip assembly-in whichda sealing material-=seals -theaspace-between the walls of a -refri'geratorcabinet and also. se-

cures the breakerstrip 'to -said-walls.

'Another'objectfis to provide a breaker strip construction which is ..rugged, inexpensive and easily assembled.

Still another-objectis lto providea breaker strip construction which holds the walls .of a

refrigerator cabinet in spaced-apart relationship andblends in smoothly "with the linesgof :said

' cabinet.

-'A.further object is to provide-a breaker strip construction which is a goodheat breakmember between the walls ofea.refrigerator-cabinet and .does:not sacrifice insulating. space between said walls.

Other :objects and advantages of the invention willbe .apparentiromzthe following description' of. a. .specific embodiment takenrin: connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. '1 is a top view-'of-a top opening-type of refrigeration *cabinet or chest having the 'food storage compartment door in open position.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, numeral 10 designates a refrigerator cabinet having a food storage compartment I I and a door l2 hingedly supported on the cabinet wall. The illustrated wall of the cabinet includes an outer wall l4 and an inner wall IS with insulating material l6 therebetween. The outer wall [4 has a portion bent downwardly and inwardly at edge 11 to form an upwardly opening channel shaped bracket 18 having legs l9 and 20, bottom 2| and a flat portion 22 extending from leg at right angles to wall l4 and spaced below edge H. The inner wall l5 has a portion bent downwardly and outwardly at edge 23 to form an upwardly opening channel shaped bracket 24 having legs 25 and 26, bottom 21 and a flat portion 28 extending from leg 26 at right angles to inner wall l5 and spaced below edge 23. The channel shaped brackets I8 and 24 extend the complete length of the inner and outer walls, thus forming grooves or pockets 29 and 30 completely around the periph- 29 and 30 while hot and in the liquid'state.

-ery of-thedooropening which -are ,filled with .sealing .materia1. as hereinafter described. .If desired, zbrackets .l 8 :and .24. could be fabricated as separate partsand .thenattached to the inner and outer-cabinet walls.

-A supporting strip .31 -.of rigid material having :good insulating qualities and substantial me- -chanical strength, ,such .-as compressed fiber ;-board, is secured to the fiat portions 22 and 28 by sheet metal screws 32 supporting member 3| is located in, substantial- '-ly the .same,..hori zontal .plane as edges l1 and .23. This supporting .member serves to hold the .inner and outer .Iwallmembers in-.spacediapart :relationship vrand to provide a support for .a 'breaker strip member .as hereinafter described.

The top surface of .A: resilient breaker strip .33 of .moisture .proof, rubber-like.materiaLoverlapsthe edges l1 and -23 and ms down -against supporting member 3 I .If -desired,'1-a:cementing material may :be used vto secure .the breaker strip 33- to supporting member 3 l Thebreaker strip is formed with longitudinal rib-alike projections .34.-and ;36 .on

fIhese projections extend I a sub- .Theggrooves.29 .-and 0 are filled with a. sealing material 38 seals the insulating space between the walls I4 and [5 to prevent entrance of any air or moisture and also secures the breaker strip in position.

In assembling said breaker strip, supporting member 3| is first secured to fiat portions 22 and 28 by sheet metal screws 32. The bituminous sealing material 38 is then poured into grooves The breaker strip 33 is then fitted over supporting member 3| and the projections 34 and 36 are forced down into grooves 29 and 30 and imbedded in the sealing material. As the sealing material cools to room temperatures, it solidifies and thus holds the projections securely in place. If desired, heater wires 39 may be disposed in grooves 29 and 30with provisions for passing an electrical current through said wire. This current will produce heat in the heater wire which will, in turn, heat the sealing material, thus maintaining the sealing material in a liquid state during the assembly or disassembly of said breaker strip.

From the above description it will be ap- 3 preciated that the invention provides a novel breaker strip construction which is inexpensive and easily installed, acts as a good heat break member and sacrifices little of the insulation space between the cabinet walls.

While one embodiment of the invention has been described for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a refrigerator cabinet having spaced inner and outer walls provided with adjacent edge portions, channel-shaped brackets positioned adjacent said edge portions, a support member connecting said brackets, a breaker strip bridging between said Walls, said breaker strip having longitudinal ribs formed on one side, said ribs spaced inwardly from the breaker strip edges, said ribs being relatively thin and terminating into nubs, said ,ribs extending into said brackets, and a sealing material disposed in said brackets, said nubs embedded in said sealing material.

2. In a refrigerator cabinet having spaced inner and outer walls providedwith adjacent edge portions, a breaker strip bridging between said walls, said edge portions bent inwardly toward each other into U-shapedchannels'having flat portions extending toward each other, a support member connecting said channels and secured to said fiat portions, said breaker strip having longitudinal projections along each edge thereof, said projections extending into said channels, and a sealing material disposed in said channels and surrounding said projections, said sealing material securing said breaker strip in place and sealing the space between said walls.

3. In a refrigeration cabinet construction, inner and outer walls having heat insulation therebetween andbeing provided with a door opening, said walls having edge portions spaced apart peripherally of the door opening, bracket'means positioned adjacent to said edge portions,said bracket means forming grooves around the periphery of said door opening, a support member secured to said brackets and'extending therebetween, a breaker strip'positioned between said walls and overlapping said edge portions, said breaker strip and said supporting'member disposed in adjacent parallel'planes, saidbreaker strip having longitudinal projections spaced inwardly from each edge thereof, said projections extending down into said grooves, and means for sealing the space between said walls and for securing the breaker strip in place, said means including a sealing material disposed in said grooves into which said projections are'embedded.

4. In arefrigerator,cabinetrconstruction, inner and outer walls havingjheat insulation therebetween and being provided with a door opening, said walls having edge portions spaced apart peripherally. of the door opening, the outer wall edge portion bent inwardly into a U-shaped channel with'a fiat portion extending toward the innerwall and perpendicular to theouter wall, said inner wall edge portion bent outwardly into a U.-shaped,channel. with a, fiat portion extending toward the outer wall and perpendicular to the inner wall, a supporting member secured to said fiat portion and connecting said channels, a

breakerstrip positioned between said walls and overlapping the edge portions, said breaker strip andv said. supporting member disposed in adjacent parallel planes, said breaker strip having longitudinal projections spaced inwardly from each edge thereof, said projections extending into said channels-and means for securingsaid projections in said channels and for sealing the space between said walls, said means comprising a sealingmaterial which substantially fills the channels and surrounds said projections.

. a JOHNSPALMER.

L assesses cited is the fileof this pate t UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Nov. 3,- 1931 

